Books with author J. Paul Briggs

Charles Dickens has turned detective in this thrilling series! Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Victorian crime mysteries, A Christmas Carol and David Copperfield Boys are going missing from London’s slums… London, 1849When a boy is found drowned in the River Thames at Hungerford Stairs, novelist Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones of Bow Street are mystified to discover that the child is not the missing youngster for whom they have been searching. As Dickens and Jones delve deeper into London’s poverty-stricken backstreets, they stumble across two more bodies.A serial killer is on the loose. And Charles is terrified that someone close to him may be one of the victims.With a strange image of a mask sketched next to the corpses, could the murderer be leaving a trail for the detectives to follow…?Or will the Death at Hungerford Stairs remain unsolved…? Death at Hungerford Stairs is the second urban mystery in J. C. Briggs’ literary historical series, the Charles Dickens Investigations, a traditional British detective series set in Victorian London. ‘The dark side of Victorian London is effectively portrayed in a chilling tale of child murder, deceit and madness. Grab a cup of coffee, put your feet up and enjoy’ - The Historical Novel Society‘Briggs's real triumph is the creation of secondary characters who could have come straight out of Oliver Twist and whose fates will tug at readers' heartstrings’ - Publisher’s Weekly‘This is a cleverly crafted story with magnificent period detail to flesh out the circumstances in large and small ways. All the characters whether major or minor ring true in this Dickens London’ - Jennifer Palmer, Promoting Crime Fiction ‘In this gripping murder mystery, South Lakeland author Jean Briggs explores how Charles Dickens might have acted in the role of detective’ - The Westmorland Gazette‘an extremely engaging read. Jean Briggs is proving herself to be a crime writer to watch out for’ – Crime Fiction LoverThe Charles Dickens Investigations Series:BOOK ONE: The Murder of Patience BrookeBOOK TWO: Death at Hungerford StairsBOOK THREE: Murder by GhostlightBOOK FOUR: The Quickening and the DeadBOOK FIVE: At Midnight In Venice

Breath . . . it inspires so many silly sayings.Let me catch my breath.You take my breath away.I need a breath of fresh air.And how did little white flowers come to be known as Baby's Breath?Breath is a mystery in more ways than one. And this story is all about breath: losing it, trying to find it, even trying to buy it. In the imagination of Paul Briggs, a boy's breath becomes personified, and it zooms away through farm, forest, and sea, returning only when the boy least expects it.

Lachlan Smith doesn’t think of himself as a hero. His father lived a heroic life, and died an even more heroic death. Locksmith has no ambitions to do the first, and absolutely refuses to do the second. But everything changes when Lock and his friend Gary investigate a strange noise in the closet of his new bedroom… and discover a portal to another world. It is a vast, steaming jungle, full of ruins and devoid of all human habitation. It is a dangerous world with many predators, from giant feral dogs to swarms of hungry rats. It is our world, many years from now, when the human species has gone extinct.Lock and Gary experiment with the portal, and find that by making small changes in the present, they can alter the future. But can they make the biggest change of all? Can they discover what happened — or will happen — in time to prevent it?And where did the portal come from? Why is it in his closet? Why did the previous owner of this house disappear without a trace? And who is the strange man who has made himself an enemy of Lock's family, insisting that the house belongs to him and that he will stop at nothing to get it?Lock and Gary are not heroes — yet. But the adventure they have chosen will test them as they have never been tested before. They'll need all their intelligence, courage and will to save themselves — and everybody else.

When 12-year-old Lachlan Smith found a portal to a hundred years in the future, he discovered a world where the human species had been extinct for decades. Now Lock and a small group of his friends and family are exploring the ruins of the future to learn its secrets. At the same time, they're trying to keep those secrets from the world of the present and prevent the time portal from falling into the wrong hands… all while maintaining the semblance of a normal life.The more they find, the more they realize that if they're going to prevent the end of the human race, they can't do it by themselves. But who can help them? And who can they trust with the portal and the power it represents — the power to reshape the future… or destroy it?For Locksmith, new discoveries, hard choices and dangerous journeys await.

A story of the fate of identical triplet brothers from a small New York town during the 1950’s-60’s. They grow up in the shadow of three major institutions: West Point Military Academy, Maryknoll Seminary, and Sing-Sing Penitentiary. The boys are identical in looks, but have distinctly different personalities, strengths and weaknesses. Most important to them is their unbroken bond to each other. A bold and daring response to their environment is their only chance to find their individuality. Basketball plays a prominent role.

Charles Dickens has turned detective in this thrilling series! Perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Victorian crime mysteries, A Christmas Carol and David Copperfield Boys are going missing from London’s slums… London, 1849When a boy is found drowned in the River Thames at Hungerford Stairs, novelist Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones of Bow Street are mystified to discover that the child is not the missing youngster for whom they have been searching. As Dickens and Jones delve deeper into London’s poverty-stricken backstreets, they stumble across two more bodies.A serial killer is on the loose. And Charles is terrified that someone close to him may be one of the victims.With a strange image of a mask sketched next to the corpses, could the murderer be leaving a trail for the detectives to follow…?Or will the Death at Hungerford Stairs remain unsolved…? Death at Hungerford Stairs is the second urban mystery in J. C. Briggs’ literary historical series, the Charles Dickens investigations, a traditional British detective series set in Victorian London.‘The dark side of Victorian London is effectively portrayed in a chilling tale of child murder, deceit and madness. Grab a cup of coffee, put your feet up and enjoy’ - The Historical Novel Society‘Briggs's real triumph is the creation of secondary characters who could have come straight out of Oliver Twist and whose fates will tug at readers' heartstrings’ - Publisher’s Weekly‘This is a cleverly crafted story with magnificent period detail to flesh out the circumstances in large and small ways. All the characters whether major or minor ring true in this Dickens London’ - Jennifer Palmer, Promoting Crime Fiction ‘In this gripping murder mystery, South Lakeland author Jean Briggs explores how Charles Dickens might have acted in the role of detective’ - The Westmorland Gazette‘an extremely engaging read. Jean Briggs is proving herself to be a crime writer to watch out for’ – Crime Fiction LoverThe Charles Dickens Investigations Series:BOOK ONE: The Murder of Patience BrookeBOOK TWO: Death at Hungerford StairsBOOK THREE: Murder by GhostlightBOOK FOUR: The Quickening and the Dead BOOK FIVE: At Midnight In Venice

It's a snowy winter evening on a distant island, but a lighthouse keeper and his family are warm and secure. As the island creatures settle in for the night, one by one, the keeper's son is snug in his bed, watched over by loving parents. In soothing cadences and exquisite illustrations, Briggs takes readers to that wonderful moment when it's time to pull up the covers and go to sleep.

It's a snowy winter evening on a distant island, but a lighthouse keeper and his family are warm and secure. As the island creatures settle in for the night, one by one, the keeper's son is snug in his bed, watched over by loving parents. In soothing cadences and exquisite illustrations, Briggs takes readers to that wonderful moment when it's time to pull up the covers and go to sleep.